Today:
1541: Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Incas, was assassinated in Lima by Spanish rivals.
1844: U.S. President John Tyler married his second wife, Julia Gardiner, becoming the first president to marry while in office.
1906: The first Grand Prix motor race was held in Le Mans, France.
1917: The first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops landed in France during World War I.
1925: Charlie Chaplin’s film “The Gold Rush” premiered.
1945: The United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco by 50 nations.
1948: The Berlin Airlift began in response to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin.
1959: The St. Lawrence Seaway, connecting the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, was officially opened.
1963: U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in West Berlin.
1974: A pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum became the first-ever item scanned with a UPC barcode at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio.